Manufacturing flexible drinking straws

ABSTRACT

The method herein disclosed is to groove the straw circumferentially, one groove at a time, progressively part way toward one end of the straw, starting inwardly from the other end, the grooves having sides of unequal length for snapping over center in flexing or straightening the straw. The machine involves one drum on which the grooving is performed, and a second drum on which the grooved straws are subjected to endwise compression to close the corrugations in the grooved portion and define reentrant folds.

4o Unite States atem [151 3,641,84

Jivoin Feb. 15, 1972 [54] MANUFACTURING FLEXIBLE 2,391,915 1 1946McLaughlin ..93/94 X DRINKING STRAWS 2,508,798 5/1950 2,631,645 3 1953[72] Inventor: Anton Jivoin, 4307 N. Hamlin St., I

Chi n 2,837,980 6/1958 I 6 625 3,242,828 3/1966 [22] Filed: July 7, 19693,291,009 12/ 1966 3,339,004 8 1967 v 3,530,556 9/1970 [52] US. Cl...93/84 TW, 93/58 ST, 93/59 ES,

93 59 PL, 93/77 R, 93/94 R, 264/293 Prlmary WWW-Wayne 1 1 1m. Cl. ..B3lc5/00, 831d 5/04, 133 1r 7/00 AmmvyAndrew Wmterwm [58] Field ofSearch..93/58 ST, 59 ES, 59 PL, 77,

93/84, 94; 239/33; 264/284, 293 [5 ABSTRACT The method herein disclosedis to groove the straw circum- [56] References cued ferentially, onegroove at a time, progressively part way UNITED STATES PATENTS towardone end of the straw, starting inwardly from the other end, the grooveshaving sides of unequal length for snapping 2,054,024 9/1936 Pye ..93/59PL over center in flexing o traightening the straw, The machine Rfi 6/19 8 a X involves one drum on which the grooving is performed, and a1,375,108 4/1921 Rees ..93/80 second drum on which the grooved strawsare subjected to 1,902,573 3/1933 Neidich. ..264/293 X endwisecompression to close the corrugations in the grooved Hoefllch X portionand define feent 'ant folds 2,169,205 8/1939 Homung ...93/84 TW2,297,208 9/1942 Fallscheer ..264/293 36 Claims, 17 Drawing Figures 01 5Groom a0 W sag-- 90 89 7 47 "if; P 46 j 99 50 21' .J- I \\\\\1 l a I 2 gI a PAFEWUFEB 15 m2 SHEET 1 OF 5 25 ,fnuenj'orx Cinfmv (fir/021w, I

PATENTEDFEB 15 I972 SHEET 2 OF 5 Inuenibr QnZZW JZUOL'W,

PATENTEBFEB 15 1972 SHEEY Q 0F 5 Nm Nm llll s Ill I men 1'07":

PATENTEBFEB 15 1912 SHEET 5 OF 5 vwenibrs- [Znfo 71/ JZz/oim,

MANUFACTURING FLEXIBLE DRINKING STRAWS This invention relates to a novelmethod and machine for making flexible drinking straws, moreparticularly the peculiarly corrugated ones disclosed in Harp et al. US.Pat No. 3,409,224, wherein each of the corrugations is defined by acircumferential groove having sides of unequal length, and thesecorrugations, when the straw is contracted lengthwise, definingreentrant overlapping folds. Each of these folds, in flexing the strawto a desired extent open with a pop" as the fold goes past dead center,thereby holding the mouthpiece beyond the corrugations at any given setposition.

The development of the straw was one thing, the development of asatisfactory method and machine for its successful commercial productionhas been quite another matter, as shown by the fact that they could notbe made fast enough for good profit but, worse still, a high percentageof these new straws obtainable on the marketso far have not operated asintended. It is, therefore, the principal object of my invention toprovide a new method and machine which not only give much faster andmore profitable production (as high as 600 per minute or more) but, whatis more important, all of the straws are uniformly good and there arepractically no rejects and no straws that fail to operate right in thehands of the average consumer.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a straw in use made in accordance with this inventionand indicating in dotted lines the degree of its flexibility to suitevery requirement;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are enlarged sectional and side elevational views,respectively, of the flexible portion of a straw, to show theconstruction and also illustrate the operation;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged section of the flexible portion of a straw shownstraight, as in full lines in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 5 and 6 serve to illustrate by full lines and dotted lines in eachthe popover" action which is a novel feature of this straw and whichincidentally required special handling of the forming of thecorrugations in the manufacture of the straws if they are to performproperly as intended;

FIG. 7 is a front view of a machine for making the straws shown in FIGS.l-6, embodying my invention;

FIG. 8 is a cross section on line 8-8 of FIG. 7; FIG. 9 is a front viewtaken from the right-hand side of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a longitudinal section on the line 10-10 of FIG. 8 and FIG.10A is a detail on line Illa-10a of FIG. 10;

FIGS. 11 to 15 illustrate the steps in the production of a straw,starting with the plain straw of polyethylene or other suitablethermoplastic material shown in FIG. 11, which is first, while on thefirst drum, applied to a mandre, as in FIG. 12, and grooved as in FIG.13, then stripped off the mandrel and dropped onto the second drum as inFIG. 14, and finally compressed lengthwise while on the third drum as inFIG. 15 to close all of the corrugations and define reentrantoverlapping folds as seen in FIG. 14, and

FIG. 16 is a diagrammatic view showing one of the carrier mandrels andthe cooperating stationary track member, whereby the corrugations areroll-formed in the walls of the straws progressively outwardly towardthe mouthpiece end so that every corrugation is identical with all therest on every straw to insure good operation, dotted lines being used toindicate the corrugated wall portion of a straw roll-formed by passingof the mandrel over the track member in the direction indicated by thearrow to the left of the track member.

The same reference numerals are applied to corresponding partsthroughout the views.

Referring first to FIGS. 145, the flexible drinking straw shown at 17with which my invention is involved as to a novel method and machine forits better and more profitable production is generally similar to thatshown in Harp, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,409,224, the present one 17 beingpreferably made of polyethylene with a straight cylindrical mouthpieceend portion 18 and another straight cylindrical end portion 19 adaptedto be entered in the mouth of a bottle 20 and provided of sufficientlength to reach the bottom thereof, leaving exposed in outwardly spacedrelation to the mouth of the bottle the flexible cylindricalintermediate portion 21. The latter portion has a plurality ofcorrugations defined between circumferential grooves 22, the two sides23 and 24 of each corrugation being of unequal lengths, the side 23being shorter than the side 24. As sold, usually so many per box, thestraws 17 are, of course, straight, with the flexible portion 21 of eachcontracted lengthwise so the sides 23 and 24 define reentrantoverlapping folds 25 as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2. The straws are flexed, ofcourse, when used, as illustrated by dotted line showing in FIG. 1, andalso by FIGS. 2 and 3. It is in the flexing of the straw that thepopover feature illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 plays an important role inholding the mouthpiece I8 yieldably in whatever angle it is set. This isby reason of the short side 23 on one side of each of the various foldsor corrugations 25 involved in the flexing (a few for a small flex, morefor a larger flex) having to snap or pop over dead center as the strawis flexed far enough. FIG. 5 shows in full lines how the short side 23has gone from the dotted position to the full line position near deadcenter in the flexing, while FIG. 6 shows the popover from the dottedline position near dead center to the full line position past deadcenter. Obviously, it then requires application of some force to returnthe parts to their first position as the sides 23 must again be snappedover dead center, and hence this popover feature has made this type ofstraw preferable to the older ones having only flexibility without thedesirable new feature mentioned.

Referring now to FIGS. 7 to 16 for an understanding of my novel methodand machine for making these flexible drinking straws, attention iscalled first to FIGS. 1 1-16 which illustrate the method. FIG. 11 showsa straw blank B of polyethylene or other suitable material. FIGS. 12, 13and 16 show how, in accordance with the first step of my invention, theblank B is applied over the first of two mandrels 26 and 27 for therollforming of the flexible portion 21, progressively, outwardly towardthe mouthpiece end 18 as illustrated in FIG. 16 to provide all of thecircumferential grooves 22 exactly alike and all of the corrugations23-24 exactly alike. Then, as seen in FIG. 14, the grooved blank isstripped off the mandrel 26, and, as seen in FIG. 15, mandrel 27 has itspointed reduced end portion 28 entered in the mouthpiece end 18 of thegrooved blank and the straw is subjected to endwise pressure by theannular shoulder 29 abutting the end of the mouthpiece to close all ofthe corrugations and form the overlapping reentrant folds 25 as theyappear in FIGS. 1 and 4.

FIGS. 10 and 16 are especially noteworthy. The mandrels 26 12 or more ata time, as shown in FIG. 8) carrying blanks B are turned positively asthey move through about in a semicircle in the direction of the arrow A(FIG. 16) around an arcuate stationary track 30 so that the evenlyspaced parallel annular ribs 31 on the mandrels disposed inside theblanks can cooperate with one after another of the concentric ribs 32provided in evenly spaced parallel relation on the track to roll formthe annular grooves 22 in the walls of the blanks progressivelyoutwardly toward the mouthpiece 18, due to the offsetting of the ends ofribs 32 at both ends as seen at 33 in FIGS. 9 and 10, the first rib 32at the right in FIG. 16 having substantially completed the first groove22 in a blank when the next rib is starting to form the second groove,and so on until all of the grooves are produced. With this method I drawupon the wall material of the body of the blank to the left of each rib32 as it comes into play for enough material to produce the groove beingformed, and I thereby insure having enough material for all of thecorrugations and am certain of making them all exactly alike and therebyinsure uniformly good operation. A semicircular guide or housing 34 seenin FIG. 8 keeps all of the mandrels 26 confined in operativerelationship to the track 30 during the roll-forming operation justdescribed. The ribs 31, while stiff enough radially to perform theroll-forming operation described, are easily enough flexible laterallyto the small extent necessary to allow stripping the formed blanks B offthe mandrels 26 as required for their later reception of mandrels 27(FIG. used in subjecting the formed blanks to endwise compression to thefinal form in which they are packaged for shipment and sale.

Referring next to FIGS. 7 to 16, 35 indicates a hopper from which thestraw blanks B are fed by gravity, one by one, into notches 35 providedin the periphery of a rotary drum 37 that has a plate 38 on one endclosing that end of the notches 36, the other end of the notches beingopen and registering with a series of mandrels 26, previously mentioned,supported in registering holes in a pair of spaced disks 39 and 40 thathave an intermediate connecting hub 41. The mandrels 26, of which onlytwo diametrically opposed ones are shown in FIGS. 7 and 10 to facilitateand make clear the illustration, each has a pinion 42 on one end meshingwith a gear 43 to transmit rotation to the mandrels and the straw blanksB carried thereby as they revolve around the stationary arcuate track 30and have the grooves formed therein next to the mouthpiece end 18. Eachstraw blank B promptly after entry in a notch 36 in the drum 37 is fedby a compressible rubber or plastic friction roller 44, as seen in FIG.I2, outwardly into telescoping relationship with its associated mandrel26 until the mouthpiece end 18 strikes a stop 45 formed by a rollerbearing part, this occurring in the space marked Apply in FIG. 8. Then,in further turning of the drum 37 in a clockwise direction relative totrack 30 marked in FIG. 8 150 of Grooving, with the offset arrangementof the ribs 32 on track 30, shown in FIGS. 9 and 16, the first annulargroove is formed in the straw blank B before the start of the secondannular groove and so on until the last annular groove is produced, andit is this progressive forming of the grooves in which the necessarymaterial for each successive groove is derived from the mouthpiece end18 that insures having enough material for all of the corrugations sothat all of these are exactly alike with not even a slight variation,thereby insuring uniformly good operation of all of the drinking strawsproduced with this machine. Not only that but the production is speededup to a point where at least 600 per minute is possible so that thestraws can be made available to the public at a much lower cost for ahigher quality product.

Referring to FIG. 14, the straw blanks B in their grooved form arestripped off the mandrels 26 by another soft roller 46 in the spacemarked strip" in FIG. 8, and promptly thereafter when the notch 36carrying the stripped blank registers with a notch 47 in another smallerdiameter drum 48 below drum 37 the blank is transferred thereto bygravity. Drum 48 turns in a counterclockwise direction, as seen in FIG.8. The soft rubber or plastic friction roller 46 turns in the oppositedirection with respect to roller 44 and serves to strip the straws offthe mandrels 26 and slide them inwardly into abutment with the end plate38. An end plate 49 is provided on drum 48 in alignment with end plate38 on drum 37 and prevents endwise displacement of the straws relativeto drum 48. A curved housing 50 keeps the grooved straw blanks Bconfined in their notches 46 until each of the notches 46 registers witha notch 51 provided in the periphery of a third drum 52 disposed belowthe drum 47 as seen in FIG. 8. At that point the grooved blanks B aretransferred by gravity one by one from notches 46 to notches 51 and hereagain an end plate 53 on one end of drum 52 has abutment with the innerend of the blanks B to prevent their displacement from that end of thedrum. In this case plate 53 serves as a supporting abutment for theinner end of each straw blank B while the mandrel 27 entered in themouthpiece end 18 subjects the straw to endwise compression by means ofits annular shoulder 29 to close all of the corrugations and define thereentrant overlapping folds 25 shown in FIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 10, a fixed swash plate 54, adjustable as toinclination, as indicated at 55, and also as to elevation, as indicatedat 56, carries antifriction rollers 57- at 90 intervals for easy rollingsupport thereon of a secondary swash plate 58, to the periphery of whichthe previously mentioned mandrels 27 have universal joint connection atcircumferentially spaced points as shown at 59, only two diametricallyopposed ones of the mandrels and their connections being illustrated attheir opposite extreme positions for simplicity as well as clarity. The

secondary swash plate 58 has a universal joint connection indicated at60 with the shaft 61 to which is fixed a drive yoke 62, the horizontalarm 63 of which transmits drive to the secondary swash plate 58 asindicated at 64 in FIGS. 10 and 10A. The mandrels 27 are reciprocable inbearings 65 in spaced concentric disks 66 and 67, and it should be clearfrom FIGS. 7, 8 and 10, that immediately upon transfer by gravity of thegrooved straw blank B from a notch 47 in drum 49 to a notch 51 in drum52, the pointed end of a mandrel 27 register ing with the notch 51 isstarted on its way into the mouthpiece end 18 of the straw so that inthe first 180 travel in a clockwise direction, while the straws are allclosely confined in the notches 51 by the substantially semicircularhousing plate 68 (FIG. 8), the straws are all compressed fully to theextent shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and I5, and thereafter in the nextsubstantially 90 travel or less the mandrels 27 are withdrawn enough topermit the finished straws to drop off the drum 52 or be brushed off, ifnecessary, to fall onto the horizontal conveyor belt indicated at 69 inFIG. 7 to be conveyed to a packaging machine.

The drive train is as follows: an electric motor 70 drives the inputshaft of a speed reducer 71 to drive the shaft 61 at a predeterminedspeed in relation to the motor speed, and in a clockwise direction, asseen in FIG. 8. Disk 67 on shaft 63 is a gear which, as seen in FIGS. 7and 10, meshes with a pinion 72 on the intermediate shaft 73 to transmitdrive through pinion 74 to the gear 40 to drive the drum 4] in aclockwise direction, the same as drum 37 is driven through anotherpinion 75 meshing with another gear 76 to drive the upper shaft 77, towhich the drum 37 is fixed. The arcuate ribbed track or plate 30 isfixed to a stationary shaft 78 fixed to frame member 79, the drum 37turning relative to the coaxial inner end of the fixed shaft 78, which,as by means of a reduced pilot end portion on the fixed shaft (notshown) is received in a bearing recess provided in the inner end ofshaft 77. Gear 80 turning with shaft 77 transmits drive to gear 81 towhich the small intermediate drum 48 is fixed, whereby to drive saiddrum in a counterclockwise direction, as seen in FIG 8, at the sameperipheral speed as the drums 37 and 52, the drum 48 turning freelyrelative to shaft 73. A worm gear 82 in FIG. 8, is fixed to the shaft 73and transmits drive to a worm 83 fixed to a cross-shaft 84 to provide apower takeoff for driving the previously mentioned soft rubber orplastic rollers 44 and 46, the first of which serves to apply the strawblanks to the mandrels 26 and the other serving to strip the strawblanks from the mandrels 26 after the grooving operation. In the powertakeoff, a belt 85 driven by the lower pulley 86 transmits drive to theupper pulley 87 on the cross-shaft 88 to which the lower roller 46 isattached. Then, through meshing beveled gears 89 and 90, drive istransmitted to a vertical shaft 91, which carries a bevel gear 92 on itsupper end transmitting drive to another beveled gear 93 carried on theupper cross-shaft 94 to which the upper roller 44 is fixed. Thedirections of rotation are indicated by arrows in FIG. 8, the one roller44 serving to slide the straw blanks outwardly with respect to drum 37,and the other roller 46 stripping the freshly grooved straws off themandrels 26 back onto the drum 37 just prior to transfer to these strawsonto drum 48.

A sprocket 95 fixed to shaft 73 transmits drive through a chain 96 to asprocket 97 fixed to a hub 98 turning on the stationary shaft 78carrying the gear 43 that transmits drive to the pinions 42, turning themandrels 26 as they are carried around in a circle with the drum 4B inregistering relationship to the straws carried on the drum 37. The speedof rotation of the straw blanks with the mandrels 26 is fast enough inrelation to their orbital movement to easily accomplish the completionof the first groove by cooperation of ribs 31 on the mandrel 26 with thefirst of the ribs 32 on the curved track or plate 30 before forming ofthe second groove commences, and so on for all of the grooves.

The machine is portable and as shown in FIG. 7 is carried on a table 99having supporting legs 100 at its opposite ends.

The operation is believed to be clear from the foregoing description.The straw blanks B are fed from a hopper 35 into notches or holders 36in drum 37 and promptly thereafter are applied by a friction roller 44onto mandrels 26, as indicated by the caption Apply" in FIG. 8. Then thestraw blanks are grooved as they rotate with the mandrels 26 and move inan are relative to the arcuate track or plate 30 by contact withsuccessive ribs 32 on this plate cooperating with ribs 31 on themandrel, the material required to form each groove being derived fromthe mouthpiece end of the straw, accordingly insuring having the wallsof all of the grooves exactly alike. This is done in 150 travel of themandrels 26 relative to plate 30, as shown by the caption in FIG. 8, andpromptly thereafter the roller 46 strips the grooved straws off themandrels 26 as indicated by the caption Strip in FIG. 8, just beforeeach holder or notch 36 in drum 37 registers with a holder or notch 47in drum 48 for transfer thereto, gravity alone being consideredsufficient for the transfer of the straws from drum 37 to drum 48,although, if necessary, fingers 101 working in annular grooves in thedrum 37 at opposite ends, or near opposite ends, serving to insure thedesired transfer, the fingers 101 being indicated as integral extensionsof the curved housing 50. In like manner, fingers 102 indicated indotted lines in FIG. 8 as extensions of the curved housing 68, willserve to insure transfer of straws from the holders or notches 47 indrum 438 into holders or notches 51 in drum 52, the fingers 102 beingextensions of housing 68 and received in annular grooves providedtherefor in drum 43. In l80 travel of the grooved straws on drum 52,these straws are subjected to endwise compression by entry andreciprocation therein of smooth ended mandrels 27, as shown in FIG. 15.The mandrels 27 withdraw from the straws sufficiently within the next 90or more of travel of the straws with the drum 52 so that a brush orbrushes or a stripper finger or fingers 103 working in an annular grooveor grooves in a drum 52 will serve to positively eject whatever strawshave not already fallen off the drum by gravity onto the conveyor 69,the latter carrying the finished straws to a packaging machine.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding ofthe objects and advantages of my invention. While a preferred embodimentof the invention has been illustrated and described, this is only forthe purpose of illustration, and it is to be understood that variousmodifications in structure will occur to a person skilled in this art.

I claim:

1. In a machine for the production of drinking straws each having aflexibie portion intermediate the ends defined by circumferentialgrooves formed therein, a first support means on which the straws areconveyed and held in spaced parallel relationship, a second supportmeans on which forming mandrels are conveyed in spaced parallelrelationship to one another registering with said straws, means forfeeding the straws endwise from the first support means onto saidmandrels for the forming operation, the mandrels having axially spacedannular ribs thereon, means for turning said mandrels with the strawstelescoped thereon, a fixed plate along which said mandrels are movabletransversely having spaced parallel ribs thereon in a predeterminedspaced relation to the annular ribs on said mandrels, whereby to rollform annular grooves in said straws in the relative movement, means forstripping the grooved straws off said mandrels, a third support means onwhich the grooved straws are conveyed in spaced parallel relationship toone another, a fourth support means on which second annularly shoulderedmandrels are conveyed in registering relationship to said groovedstraws, means serving as a supporting abutment for one end of saidgrooved straws while said second mandrels are entered in the other endof said straws for the annular shoulders to subject the straws toendwise compression to collapse the grooved portions thereof, and meansfor reciprocating said second mandrels relative to said straws for thislatter operation.

2. A machine as set forth in claim 1, wherein the ribs on said plate arein longitudinally offset relationship to one another for forming thegrooves in said straws progressively from one end of the grooved portionof the straws toward one end of the straws, so that the materialrequired in the rolling of each groove is derived from one end portionof each straw, thereby insuring uniformity of wall thickness throughoutthe entire grooved length of said straws.

3. A machine as set forth in claim 2, wherein the ribs on thefirst-named mandrels are so spaced and arranged relative to those on theplate that the circumferential grooves formed in the straws have sidesof unequal length.

4. A machine as set forth in claim 2, wherein the ribs on thefirst-named mandrels are laterally flexible to facilitate stripping offthe grooved straws.

5. In combination, an apparatus for production of drinking straws havinga flexible portion intermediate the ends defined by circumferentialgrooves formed therein, a first mandrel over which an end portion of thestraw is slipped endwise having spaced annular ribs to cooperate with anelongated plate having spaced parallel elongated ribs that are disposedbetween said annular ribs to roll form the circumferential grooves inthe straw by rotation of said mandrel while there is relative movementlengthwise of said plate, and a second mandrel having a smooth endportion to fit freely in the grooved end portion of the straw after itis stripped off the first mandrel, said second mandrel having an annularshoulder thereon which by engagement with one end of the grooved strawand movement endwise thereof while the other end is supported serves tocompress the grooved portion to collapsed form.

6. The combination set forth in claim 5, wherein the ribs on said plateare in longitudinally offset relationship to one another for forming thegrooves in said straws progressively from one end of the grooved portionof the straws toward one end of the straws, so that the materialrequired in the rolling of each groove is derived from one end portionof each straw, thereby insuring uniformity of wall thickness throughoutthe entire grooved length of said straws.

7. The combination set forth in claim 5, wherein the ribs on the firstmandrel are so spaced and arranged relative to those on the plate thatthe circumferential grooves formed in the straws have sides of unequallength.

8. The combination as set forth in claim 5 wherein the annular ribs onsaid first named mandrel are laterally flexible to facilitate strippingoff the grooved straws.

9. In a machine for the production of drinking straws having a flexibleportion intermediate the ends defined by circumferential grooves formedtherein, means for feeding the straws to the machine, a rotary drumhaving circumferentially spaced holders on the periphery to receive thestraws one by one and convey them through an are, a plurality ofmandrels mounted in circumferentially spaced relation on a rotarycarrier turning in concentric relation to said drum with the mandrels inregister with the holders and adapted to have end portions of the strawstelescoped on the end portions thereof, means cooperating with said drumand straws to feed the straws endwise onto said mandrels for thegrooving operation, means for tuming said mandrels with the strawstelescoped thereon, said mandrels having spaced annular ribs thereon, anarcuate plate having spaced parallel ribs provided on the peripherythereof in a predetermined spaced relation to the annular ribs providedon said mandrels for roll-forming circumferential grooves in saidstraws, said plate being stationarily mounted between said drum and saidmandrel carrier in concentric relation to said drum and carrier, meanscooperating with said drum and straws to strip the straws off saidmandrels back onto said drum after the grooving operation, a secondrotary drum having circumferentially spaced straw holders on theperiphery thereof, means for transferring the grooved straws from saidfirst drum to the holders on said second drum, a plurality of annularlyshouldered mandrels mounted in circumferentially spaced relation on asecond rotary carrier turning in concentric relation to said second drumwith the latter mandrels in register with the holders and grooved strawstherein, and means for reciprocating said last-mentioned mandrels so asto enter the free ends of said mandrels in said grooved straws and havethe annular shoulders subject said grooved straws to endwise compressionby the engagement of the annular shoulder on each of said mandrels withone end of each straw while the other end of the straw is held againstendwise displacement to permit the collapsing of the grooved portion.

10. A machine as set forth in claim 9, wherein the annular ribs on thefirst mandrels are laterally flexible to permit more easily strippingthe grooved straws off said mandrels.

11. A machine as set forth in claim wherein the means for feeding thestraws onto the first-mentioned mandrels comprises a soft frictionroller disposed in substantially tangential relation to said first drumand turning in a direction to frictionally slide the straws relative tothe holders onto said mandrels.

12. A machine as set forth in claim 9, wherein the means for strippingthe grooved straws off the first-mentioned mandrels comprises a softfriction roller disposed in substantially tangential relation to saidfirst drum and turning in a direction to frictionally slide the strawsrelative to the holders off said firstmentioned mandrels.

13. A machine as set forth in claim 9, wherein the means fortransferring the grooved straws from the holders on the drum to theholders on the second drum comprises a third drum between the first andsecond drums turning at the same peripheral speed as said drums but inthe reverse direction and having holders on the periphery thereofregistering with the holders on the first and second drums into whichthe grooved straws are first transferred from the first drum to thethird drum and thereafter from the third drum to the second drumv 14. Amachine as set forth in claim 13, including means for positivelystripping the straws from the holders on the first drum and entering thesame into holders on the third drum.

15. A machine as set forth in claim 13, including means forsubstantially positively stripping the straws from the holders on thethird drum and entering the same in holders on the second drum.

16. A machine as set forth in claim 9, including an arcuate retainer inradially outwardly spaced concentric relation to the curved plateserving to retain the straws in the holders on the first drum while theyare being subjected to the grooving operation.

17. A machine as set forth in claim 9, including an arcuate retainer inradially outwardly spaced concentric relation to the curved plateserving to retain the straws in the holders on the first drum while theyare being subjected to the grooving operation and continuing to retainsaid straws in said holders thereafter until they are being stripped offthe first-mentioned mandrels.

18. A machine as set forth in claim 13, including an arcuate retainer inradially outwardly spaced concentric relation to the third drum toretain the grooved straws in the holders on the third drum between theirtransfer from the holders on the first drum to the point of transfer tothe holders on the second drum.

l9. A machine as set forth in claim 13, including an arcuate retainer inradially outwardly spaced concentric relation to the third drum toretain the grooved straws in the holders on the third drum between theirtransfer from the holders on the first drum to the point of transfer tothe holders on the second drum, said retainer including stripper meanscooperating with the first drum to transfer the grooved straws from theholders on the first drum to the holders on the third drum.

20. A machine as set forth in claim 9, including an arcuate retainer inradially outwardly spaced concentric relation to the second drum toretain the grooved straws in the holders on the second drum during theirendwise compression by the lastmentioned mandrels.

21. A machine as set forth in claim 9, wherein the last-mentioned meanscomprises a swash plate in concentric relation to the rotary carrier forthe last-mentioned mandrels, the latter having follower meanscooperating with the swash plate and connected with the outer endportions of said mandrels in the rotation of the mandrel carrierrelative to the swash plate, whereby reciprocatory motion is given saidmandrels.

22. A machine as set forth in claim 9, wherein the last-mentioned meanscomprises a swash plate in concentric relation to the rotary carrier forthe last-mentioned mandrels, the latter having follower meanscooperating with the swash plate and connected with the outer endportions of said mandrels in the rotation of the mandrel carrierrelative to the swash plate, whereby reciprocatory motion is given saidmandrels, the follower means comprising a secondary swash plate that isparallel to and rotatable relative to the first-mentioned swash plate ona universal joint mounting and has universal joint connections incircumferentially spaced relation on the periphery thereof with thelast-mentioned mandrels.

23. A machine as set forth in claim 9, wherein the ribs on said arcuateplate are in longitudinally offset relationship to one another forforming the grooves in said straws progressively from one end of thegrooved portion of the straws toward the other end so that the materialrequired in the rolling of each groove is derived from one end of eachstraw, thereby insuring unifonnity of wall thickness throughout theentire grooved length of said straws.

24. A machine as set forth in claim 9, wherein the ribs on thefirst-named mandrels are so spaced and arranged relative to those on thearcuate plate that the circumferential grooves in the straws have sidesof unequal length.

25. A machine as set forth in claim 9, including an arcuate retainer inradially outwardly spaced concentric relation to the second drum toretain the grooved straws in the holders on the second drum during theirendwise compression by the lastmentioned mandrels, said retainerincluding stripper means cooperating with the third drum to transfer thegrooved straws from the holders on the third drum to the holders on thesecond drum.

26. A machine as set forth in claim 9 including means cooperating withthe second drum for removal of finished straws when the second mandrelsare sufficiently clear of the straws following the endwise compressionof said straws.

27. A machine as set forth in claim 9 including stripper means to stripgrooved straws off holders on said first drum following return to saidholders, said means operating in timed relation to the means fortransferring the grooved straws from said first drum to the holders onsaid second drum.

28. A machine as set forth in claim 13 including a first stripper meansfor stripping grooved straws off holders on the first drum at the pointof transfer to holders on the third drum, a second stripper means forstripping grooved straws off holders on the third drum at the point oftransfer to holders on the second drum, and a third stripper means forstripping the grooved and longitudinally compressed straws off holderson the second drum.

29. The method of making a flexible drinking straw comprising the stepsof first mounting the straw on a mandrel having a plurality of axiallyspaced annular ribs thereon between which to define in the straw aplurality of circumferential grooves intermediate the ends of the straw,and then rollforming the straw by relative transverse movement betweenthe mandrel and a plate having elongated parallel ribs all at rightangles to the mandrel and spaced similarly as the annular ones butdisposed therebetween and offset endwise relative to one anothersufficiently for individual forming of the grooves so that when thefirst of the circumferential grooves is substantially completely formedthe straw is located against endwise movement relative to the mandrelwhile the straw is thereafter progressively grooved from the firstgroove toward one end of the straw, the material required to form eachof the grooves being derived from the latter end portion of the straw toinsure uniformity of wall thickness throughout the entire grooved lengthof said straw.

30. The method of making a flexible drinking straw comprising the stepsof first mounting the straw on a mandrel having a plurality of axiallyspaced annular ribs between which to define in the straw a plurality ofcircumferential grooves having sides of unequal length intermediate theends of the straw, and then roll-forming the straw by relativetransverse movement between the mandrel and a plate that has elongatedparallel ribs all at right angles to the mandrel and spaced similarly asthe annular ones but disposed therebetween, each closer to one of twoneighboring annular ribs than to the other neighboring rib, and offsetendwise relative to one another sufficiently for individual forming ofthe grooves so as to define the first of a series of circumferentialgrooves having sides of unequal lengths and hold the straw againstendwise movement relative to the mandrel during the roll-formingoperation and progressively grooving the straw groove after groovetoward one end so that the material required to form each of the groovesis derived from the latter end portion of the straw, whereby to insureuniformity of wall thickness throughout the entire grooved length ofsaid straw.

31. The method as set forth in claim 29, including the further steps ofremoving the grooved straw from the mandrel and placing it on anothermandrel and subjecting it to lengthwise compression to collapse thecircumferentially grooved portion.

32. The method as set forth in claim 30, including the further steps ofremoving the grooved straw from the mandrel and placing it on anothermandrel and subjecting it to lengthwise compression to collapse thecircumferentially grooved portion.

33. The method as set forth in claim 29, including the additionalinitial step of confining the two ends of the straw against endwisedisplacement with respect to the mandrel prior to the transversemovement between the mandrel and the plate so as to insure correctlocation of the grooves in the straw in relation to the opposite ends byinsuring correct location of the first groove.

34. The method as set forth in claim 30, including the additionalinitial step of confining the two ends of the straw against endwisedisplacement with respect to the mandrel prior to the transversemovement between the mandrel and the plate so as to insure correctlocation of the grooves in the straw in relation to the opposite ends byinsuring correct location of the first groove.

35. In a machine for the production of drinking straws, each having aflexible portion intermediate the ends defined by circumferentialgrooves formed therein, a first support means on which the straws areconveyed and held in spaced parallel relationship, a second supportmeans on which forming mandrels are conveyed in spaced parallelrelationship to one another registering with said straws, means forfeeding the straws endwise from the -first support means onto saidmandrels for the forming operation, the mandrels having axially spacedannular ribs thereon, means for turning said mandrels with the strawstelescoped thereon, and a fixed plate along which said mandrels aremovable transversely having spaced parallel ribs thereon in apredetermined spaced relation to the annular ribs on said mandrels,whereby to roll form annular grooves in said straws in the relativemovement, the parallel ribs being offset endwise relative to one anotherenough to form the grooves individually, from the first groove to thelast, the material required for each of the grooves being derived fromone end portion of the straw to insure uniformity of wall thickness inall of the grooves.

36. A machine as set forth in claim 35, wherein the ribs on thefirst-named mandrels are so spaced and arranged relative to those on theplate that the circumferential grooves formed in the straws have sidesof unequal length.

1. In a machine for the production of drinking straws each having aflexible portion intermediate the ends defined by circumferentialgrooves formed therein, a first support means on which the straws areconveyed and held in spaced parallel relationship, a second supportmeans on which forming mandrels are conveyed in spaced parallelrelationship to one another registering with said straws, means forfeeding the straws endwise from the first support means onto saidmandrels for the forming operation, the mandrels having axially spacedannular ribs thereon, means for turning said mandrels with the strawstelescoped thereon, a fixed plate along which said mandrels are movabletransversely having spaced parallel ribs thereon in a predeterminedspaced relation to the annular ribs on said mandrels, whereby to rollform annular grooves in said straws in the relative movement, means forstripping the grooved straws off said mandrels, a third support means onwhich the grooved straws are conveyed in spaced parallel relationship toone another, a fourth support means on which second annularly shoulderedmandrels are conveyed in registering relationship to said groovedstraws, means serving as a supporting abutment for one end of saidgrooved straws while said second mandrels are entered in the other endof said straws for the annular shoulders to subject the straws toendwise compression to collapse the grooved portions thereof, and meansfor reciprocating said second mandrels relative to said straws for thislatter operation.
 2. A machine as set forth in claim 1, wherein the ribson said plate are in longitudinally offset relationship to one anotherfor forming the grooves in said straws progressively from one end of thegrooved portion of the straws toward one end of the straws, so that thematerial required in the rolling of each groove is derived from one endportion of each straw, thereby insuring uniformity of wall thicknessthroughout the entire grooved length of said straws.
 3. A machine as setforth in claim 2, wherein the ribs on the first-named mandrels are sospaced and arranged relative to those on the plate that thecircumferential grooves formed in the straws have sides of unequallength.
 4. A machine as set forth in claim 2, wherein the ribs on thefirst-named mandrels are laterally flexible to facilitate stripping offthe grooved straws.
 5. In combination, an apparatus for production ofdrinking straws having a flexible portion intermediate the ends definedby circumferential grooves formed therein, a first mandrel over which anend portion of the straw is slipped endwise having spaced annular ribsto cooperate with an elongated plate having spaced parallel elongatedribs that are disposed between said annular ribs to roll form thecircumferential grooves in the straw by rotation of said mandrel whilethere is relative movement lengthwise of said plate, and a secondmandrel having a smooth end portion to fit freely in the grooved endportion of the straw after it is stripped off the first mandrel, saidsecond mandrel having an annular shoulder thereon which by engagementwith one end of the grooved straw and movement endwise thereof while theother end is supported serves to compress the grooved portion tocollapsed form.
 6. The combination set forth in claim 5, wherein theribs on said plate are in longitudinally offset relationship to oneanother for forming the grooves in said straws progressively from oneend of the grooved portion of the straws toward one end of the straws,so that the material required in the rolling of each groove is derivedfrom one end portion of each straw, thereby insuring uniformity of wallthickness throughout the entire grooved length of said straws.
 7. Thecombination set forth in claim 5, wherein the ribs on the first mandrelare so spaced and arranged relative to those on the plate that thecircumferential grooves formed in the straws have sides of unequallength.
 8. The combination as set forth in claim 5 wherein the annularribs on said first named mandrel are laterally flexible to facilitatestripping off the grooved straws.
 9. In a machine for the production ofdrinking straws having a flexible portion intermediate the ends definedby circumferential grooves formed therein, means for feeding the strawsto the machine, a rotary drum having circumferentially spaced holders onthe periphery to receive the straws one by one and convey them throughan arc, a plurality of mandrels mounted in circumferentially spacedrelation on a rotary carrier turning in concentric relation to said drumwith the mandrels in register with the holders and adapted to have endportions of the straws telescoped on the end portions thereof, meanscooperating with said drum and straws to feed the straws endwise ontosaid mandrels for the grooving operation, means for turning saidmandrels with the straws telescoped thereon, said mandrels having spacedannular ribs thereon, an arcuate plate having spaced parallel ribsprovided on the periphery thereof in a predetermined spaced relation tothe annular ribs provided on said mandrels for roll-formingcircumferential grooves in said straws, said plate being stationarilymounted between said drum and said mandrel carrier in concentricrelation to said drum and carrier, means cooperating with said drum andstraws to strip the straws off said mandrels back onto said drum afterthe grooving operation, a second rotary drum having circumferentiallyspaced straw holders on the periphery thereof, means for transferringthe grooved straws from said first drum to the holders on said seconddrum, a plurality of annularly shouldered mandrels mounted incircumferentially spaced relation on a second rotary carrier turning inconcentric relation to said second drum with the latter mandrels inregister with the holders and grooved straws therein, and means forreciprocating said last-mentioned mandrels so as to enter the free endsof said mandrels in said grooved straws and have the annular shoulderssubject said grooved straws to endwise compression by the engAgement ofthe annular shoulder on each of said mandrels with one end of each strawwhile the other end of the straw is held against endwise displacement topermit the collapsing of the grooved portion.
 10. A machine as set forthin claim 9, wherein the annular ribs on the first mandrels are laterallyflexible to permit more easily stripping the grooved straws off saidmandrels.
 11. A machine as set forth in claim 9, wherein the means forfeeding the straws onto the first-mentioned mandrels comprises a softfriction roller disposed in substantially tangential relation to saidfirst drum and turning in a direction to frictionally slide the strawsrelative to the holders onto said mandrels.
 12. A machine as set forthin claim 9, wherein the means for stripping the grooved straws off thefirst-mentioned mandrels comprises a soft friction roller disposed insubstantially tangential relation to said first drum and turning in adirection to frictionally slide the straws relative to the holders offsaid first-mentioned mandrels.
 13. A machine as set forth in claim 9,wherein the means for transferring the grooved straws from the holderson the drum to the holders on the second drum comprises a third drumbetween the first and second drums turning at the same peripheral speedas said drums but in the reverse direction and having holders on theperiphery thereof registering with the holders on the first and seconddrums into which the grooved straws are first transferred from the firstdrum to the third drum and thereafter from the third drum to the seconddrum.
 14. A machine as set forth in claim 13, including means forpositively stripping the straws from the holders on the first drum andentering the same into holders on the third drum.
 15. A machine as setforth in claim 13, including means for substantially positivelystripping the straws from the holders on the third drum and entering thesame in holders on the second drum.
 16. A machine as set forth in claim9, including an arcuate retainer in radially outwardly spaced concentricrelation to the curved plate serving to retain the straws in the holderson the first drum while they are being subjected to the groovingoperation.
 17. A machine as set forth in claim 9, including an arcuateretainer in radially outwardly spaced concentric relation to the curvedplate serving to retain the straws in the holders on the first drumwhile they are being subjected to the grooving operation and continuingto retain said straws in said holders thereafter until they are beingstripped off the first-mentioned mandrels.
 18. A machine as set forth inclaim 13, including an arcuate retainer in radially outwardly spacedconcentric relation to the third drum to retain the grooved straws inthe holders on the third drum between their transfer from the holders onthe first drum to the point of transfer to the holders on the seconddrum.
 19. A machine as set forth in claim 13, including an arcuateretainer in radially outwardly spaced concentric relation to the thirddrum to retain the grooved straws in the holders on the third drumbetween their transfer from the holders on the first drum to the pointof transfer to the holders on the second drum, said retainer includingstripper means cooperating with the first drum to transfer the groovedstraws from the holders on the first drum to the holders on the thirddrum.
 20. A machine as set forth in claim 9, including an arcuateretainer in radially outwardly spaced concentric relation to the seconddrum to retain the grooved straws in the holders on the second drumduring their endwise compression by the last-mentioned mandrels.
 21. Amachine as set forth in claim 9, wherein the last-mentioned meanscomprises a swash plate in concentric relation to the rotary carrier forthe last-mentioned mandrels, the latter having follower meanscooperating with the swash plate and connected with the outer endportions of said mandrels in the rotation of the mandrel carrierrelative to the swash plate, whereby reciprocatory motion is given saidmandrels.
 22. A machine as set forth in claim 9, wherein thelast-mentioned means comprises a swash plate in concentric relation tothe rotary carrier for the last-mentioned mandrels, the latter havingfollower means cooperating with the swash plate and connected with theouter end portions of said mandrels in the rotation of the mandrelcarrier relative to the swash plate, whereby reciprocatory motion isgiven said mandrels, the follower means comprising a secondary swashplate that is parallel to and rotatable relative to the first-mentionedswash plate on a universal joint mounting and has universal jointconnections in circumferentially spaced relation on the peripherythereof with the last-mentioned mandrels.
 23. A machine as set forth inclaim 9, wherein the ribs on said arcuate plate are in longitudinallyoffset relationship to one another for forming the grooves in saidstraws progressively from one end of the grooved portion of the strawstoward the other end so that the material required in the rolling ofeach groove is derived from one end of each straw, thereby insuringuniformity of wall thickness throughout the entire grooved length ofsaid straws.
 24. A machine as set forth in claim 9, wherein the ribs onthe first-named mandrels are so spaced and arranged relative to those onthe arcuate plate that the circumferential grooves in the straws havesides of unequal length.
 25. A machine as set forth in claim 9,including an arcuate retainer in radially outwardly spaced concentricrelation to the second drum to retain the grooved straws in the holderson the second drum during their endwise compression by thelast-mentioned mandrels, said retainer including stripper meanscooperating with the third drum to transfer the grooved straws from theholders on the third drum to the holders on the second drum.
 26. Amachine as set forth in claim 9 including means cooperating with thesecond drum for removal of finished straws when the second mandrels aresufficiently clear of the straws following the endwise compression ofsaid straws.
 27. A machine as set forth in claim 9 including strippermeans to strip grooved straws off holders on said first drum followingreturn to said holders, said means operating in timed relation to themeans for transferring the grooved straws from said first drum to theholders on said second drum.
 28. A machine as set forth in claim 13including a first stripper means for stripping grooved straws offholders on the first drum at the point of transfer to holders on thethird drum, a second stripper means for stripping grooved straws offholders on the third drum at the point of transfer to holders on thesecond drum, and a third stripper means for stripping the grooved andlongitudinally compressed straws off holders on the second drum.
 29. Themethod of making a flexible drinking straw comprising the steps of firstmounting the straw on a mandrel having a plurality of axially spacedannular ribs thereon between which to define in the straw a plurality ofcircumferential grooves intermediate the ends of the straw, and thenroll-forming the straw by relative transverse movement between themandrel and a plate having elongated parallel ribs all at right anglesto the mandrel and spaced similarly as the annular ones but disposedtherebetween and offset endwise relative to one another sufficiently forindividual forming of the grooves so that when the first of thecircumferential grooves is substantially completely formed the straw islocated against endwise movement relative to the mandrel while the strawis thereafter progressively grooved from the first groove toward one endof the straw, the material required to form each of the grooves beingderived from the latter end portion of the straw to insure uniformity ofwall thickness throughout the entire grooved length of said straw. 30.The method of making a flexible drinking straw comprisiNg the steps offirst mounting the straw on a mandrel having a plurality of axiallyspaced annular ribs between which to define in the straw a plurality ofcircumferential grooves having sides of unequal length intermediate theends of the straw, and then roll-forming the straw by relativetransverse movement between the mandrel and a plate that has elongatedparallel ribs all at right angles to the mandrel and spaced similarly asthe annular ones but disposed therebetween, each closer to one of twoneighboring annular ribs than to the other neighboring rib, and offsetendwise relative to one another sufficiently for individual forming ofthe grooves so as to define the first of a series of circumferentialgrooves having sides of unequal lengths and hold the straw againstendwise movement relative to the mandrel during the roll-formingoperation and progressively grooving the straw groove after groovetoward one end so that the material required to form each of the groovesis derived from the latter end portion of the straw, whereby to insureuniformity of wall thickness throughout the entire grooved length ofsaid straw.
 31. The method as set forth in claim 29, including thefurther steps of removing the grooved straw from the mandrel and placingit on another mandrel and subjecting it to lengthwise compression tocollapse the circumferentially grooved portion.
 32. The method as setforth in claim 30, including the further steps of removing the groovedstraw from the mandrel and placing it on another mandrel and subjectingit to lengthwise compression to collapse the circumferentially groovedportion.
 33. The method as set forth in claim 29, including theadditional initial step of confining the two ends of the straw againstendwise displacement with respect to the mandrel prior to the transversemovement between the mandrel and the plate so as to insure correctlocation of the grooves in the straw in relation to the opposite ends byinsuring correct location of the first groove.
 34. The method as setforth in claim 30, including the additional initial step of confiningthe two ends of the straw against endwise displacement with respect tothe mandrel prior to the transverse movement between the mandrel and theplate so as to insure correct location of the grooves in the straw inrelation to the opposite ends by insuring correct location of the firstgroove.
 35. In a machine for the production of drinking straws, eachhaving a flexible portion intermediate the ends defined bycircumferential grooves formed therein, a first support means on whichthe straws are conveyed and held in spaced parallel relationship, asecond support means on which forming mandrels are conveyed in spacedparallel relationship to one another registering with said straws, meansfor feeding the straws endwise from the first support means onto saidmandrels for the forming operation, the mandrels having axially spacedannular ribs thereon, means for turning said mandrels with the strawstelescoped thereon, and a fixed plate along which said mandrels aremovable transversely having spaced parallel ribs thereon in apredetermined spaced relation to the annular ribs on said mandrels,whereby to roll form annular grooves in said straws in the relativemovement, the parallel ribs being offset endwise relative to one anotherenough to form the grooves individually, from the first groove to thelast, the material required for each of the grooves being derived fromone end portion of the straw to insure uniformity of wall thickness inall of the grooves.
 36. A machine as set forth in claim 35, wherein theribs on the first-named mandrels are so spaced and arranged relative tothose on the plate that the circumferential grooves formed in the strawshave sides of unequal length.